Hell's Wrath
by Xelaric The Nobody
Summary: AU. Slade Wilson, the governor-gone-traitor, has opened the Gates to Hell. The earth has been reduced to near-ruins. It is now up to the Guardians, young women who guard the remnants of the world, to keep the remaining people alive. These Guardians depend on their Protectors to keep them safe. But there's one problem; Slade is gaining power with every new follower. Will he win?
1. Prologue: Garfield

**Chapter Word Count: 2,500+**

**Author's Note: Hi wonderful people of the internet! :) It seems that you have clicked upon my story. I appreciate you all taking the time out to read this. The pairings for this story is as follows: RobStar, BBRae, Flinx, JeriKole, Speedy/OC, Aqualad/OC, and Red-X/OC.  
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_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans characters/TV show, nor do I own the following characters; Sarah (belongs to PandoraStar123), Ruby (belongs to piscesgirl123). However, I do own the character Hiretsuna.**_

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It was an ambush.

The young Protector swung around, aiming his dual hand pistols at the monster in front of him. About ten feet away, Richard let out a half scream, half strangled yelp as his Guardian fell to the asphalt with a sickening thud. Garfield didn't have time to run over and help him, as his hands were full with the growling Hell Hound in front of him. His fingers on the triggers, he pulled them back without hesitating. With a loud crack, the Hell Hound fell beside Richard and his fallen Guardian.

Gar replaced his hand pistols into the belt on his waist and walked over to Richard, his Guardian right behind him.

"She's hurt," Richard's voice caught in his throat as he looked up at Gar and his Guardian, Tara.

Tara's eyes widened as she knelt besides the Guardian of Wisdom. She gently closed the fallen Guardian's eyelids and rose to her feet, giving Richard an empathetic look.

"I'm sorry, Richard, but The Guardian of Wisdom is dead," Tara whispered as she bowed her head.

Richard's steely blue gaze landed on the blonde Guardian and he rose to his feet unsteadily. "D-dead? As in no longer walking this world? She can't be dead," his voice shook as his hands came down on Tara's shoulders. "I've lost too many people in this damn apocalypse, she can't be dead! First my parents, then Barbara, and now her? Hiretsuna was that one person that could've brightened my day, and now you're telling me she's gone?"

Garfield felt so bad for Richard; ever since Slade Wilson had opened the gates to Hell, things had gone terribly wrong for him and everyone in general. He gently placed his hand on Richard's shoulder. "We should get back to the bunker, dude. Wilson's servants will be here any minute to collect her body."

The black haired Protector vigorously shook Gar's hand off, and hid his face. Tears streaked down his cheeks as he fell to his knees beside the ginger haired Guardian. Gar watched as his friend sobbed in agony.

Tara looked up at Gar as if asking what to do. "Why don't we head back to the bunker? I'm sure Richard needs some space." Garfield cast another glance at Richard and turned away, walking down the debris and rubble ridden street.

Gar straightened his glasses on the bridge of his nose and then rested his hands in his pockets. Richard's sobs faded as the two teens grew further and further away from him. To Gar, it broke his heart to see his friend lose yet another person that he cared about to the Apocalypse. But it was his job, and the Assigners had warned them against getting romantically involved with their Guardian.

Garfield remembered the start of the Apocalypse like it was only yesterday. It had been, in reality, only about six months since the Gates to Hell had been opened by the governor-turned-traitor, Slade Wilson. Nobody had ever really liked him as governor, but it was fear that made people vote for him. One look at him, and you would think that he was a villain pulled straight from one of those television dramas; he had an eyepatch over his left eye. People had said he lost it in combat, but it was only a rumor. His other visible icy blue eye was enough to paralyze a child in fear. His gray-white hair was always slicked back, and his face always wore a don't-mess-with-me-or-you'll-go-to-the-dogs look.

At first, the attacks from Hell were subtle and went unrecognized. Then, as Wilson gathered more followers, the Creatures of Hell were released.

That's where the Guardians and Protectors came into play. The Guardians' job was to protect aspects that were left after Slade had let all of Hell break loose. The Guardians that had been assigned at the beginning of the apocalypse were Hiretsuna, Guardian of Wisdom, Tara, Guardian of Earth, Jade, Guardian of Feline Creatures, Sarah, Guardian of Sanity, Lily, Guardian of Magic, Ruby, Guardian of Mechanics, and Lucy, Guardian of the Skies.

It was the Protectors jobs to protect the Guardians with their life. The Creatures of Hell were after the Guardians, because Slade wanted total control of the world; with the Guardians out of the way that wish would be easier to grant himself. The Protectors as of now were of course Garfield, Richard, Roy, Garth, Wally, Jason, and Joseph.

Once a Guardian was claimed dead, the aspect that they guarded dies with them, or most of it did. For example, Lucy, Guardian of the Skies, was claimed dead about a month or so ago. The sky was now always gray or black with on coming storms or overcast.

Gar had a feeling that they would be getting assigned new Guardians soon, because there were only three left; Tara, Jade, and Sarah.

They had finally reached Bunker 8, the one of many safe havens that the Assigners, Protectors, and Guardians stayed at. Most of the guys were either sprawled across couches or practicing their gun aim on targets. The Assigners were huddled in the back, watching with sharp looks. Gar flopped down on the couch beside a smoking Jason. He rolled his eyes as Jason pulled the cigarette away from his lips, smoke emitting from his mouth.

Bruce Wayne, the Lead Assigner, cast Garfield a questioning look; Gar knew that look by now. Bruce was silently asking about Richard's whereabouts, because Richard was his foster son.

Gar got up from the couch, glad to get away from the cigarette smoke. Approaching the Assigners, Gar heaved a large sigh and looked Bruce straight in the eye.

"His Guardian is dead," he simply whispered. "Wilson's servants will have gathered her body by now. I'm sure he'll be here any minute."

Bruce gave a subtle nod and dismissed Garfield.

But before her reached his place on the couch, the door was bust open by none other than Roy. Gar couldn't help but laugh with the others as the orange haired teen tripped on a fairly big rock and fell flat on his face. He brought himself to his feet quickly and nearly tripped again as he went up to the Assigners.

"It's...it's Jade," Roy wheezed, clearly out of breath. "She...she disappeared."

Bruce shot Oliver Queen, Roy's "uncle" (he wasn't really his uncle, Roy just preferred to call him that), an I-told-you-so look. Oliver avoided Bruce's stare and looked at Roy, as if he was about to scold him. "Where were you two, just now?"

Roy took a moment to catch his breath. "We were patrolling the Gates to Hell, like you said, Uncle Ollie. I was fighting a swarm of those Shadow Sprites and when I turned around, Jade...Jade was gone."

"I've had my suspicions about that Guardian, Queen," Arthur Curry, Garth's foster father, eyed Oliver warily. "I always had something against that girl ever since you brought her in."

Oliver turned on his coworker, his green eyes narrowed. "Are you saying I have bad taste in choosing Guardians for the boys?"

Gar cracked a small smile as he watched the two Assigners bicker. They never really got along, and neither did Garth or Roy. Speaking of Roy, he stood in front of the two blonde men, biting his lip nervously; Gar could tell he was worried about Jade. To be honest, Gar, or any of the other Protectors in that matter, never liked Jade to begin with. She was very cunning, furtive, and reserved. Gar had only heard her speak once. He always wondered what Roy had seen in the black haired Guardian. Gar wouldn't have been surprised if she switched to Slade's side.

Oliver and Arthur had stopped their bickering. Arthur had called Jason and Joseph over and he was speaking to them, along with Roy. The orange haired teen slung his sheath of arrows over his shoulder, along with his bow. Jason reloaded his pistols and replaced his dagger in its sheath on his belt. Arthur tossed Joseph an extra pistol, as the blonde teen's fun appeared to be busted. When they were all locked and loaded, the three of the set off to the Gates to Hell.

Gar couldn't help but notice that Joseph looked a bit scared as he walked out of the bunker. Joseph was a nice kid, but he was mute. And the son of Slade Wilson. He was very kind though, nothing like his father, and Gar appreciated that he didn't want to follow in his father's foot steps.

It had become awkwardly silent in the bunker, as it usually did. The remaining two Guardians were chatting away in the opposite corner. Each of them wore a toga-styled dress, the pattern matching the aspect they guarded; Tara's was a forest green with foliage and flowers, and Sarah's dress was white with the shadowed outlines of white roses. The both of them wore golden pendants, a symbol of their positions as Guardians.

Gar got up from his place on the couch, as a red-eyed Richard walked in with his head hung. Gar was about to approach him, when he felt the ground shake subtly. The rest of the Protectors stopped what they were doing and looked around to find the source of the shaking. The two Guardians stood frozen in their places as the shaking grew more and more violently.

Suddenly, the ten story building became a one story building, as the rest of the floors were thrust off by a giant scaly, crimson tail. Sarah and Tara bolted to the back wall, behind the remaining Protectors and the four Assigners. Gar shakily reached for his dual hand pistols, preparing for the beast that dared attack their bunker. Garth, Richard, and Wally soon followed his lead and aimed through the gaping sky light.

A thundering roar shook the building to its foundation. A crimson reptilian head appeared above the wall, followed by the rest of its scaly body. On his back stood a man of about twenty years of age with shaggy red hair and a burn scar over his left eye. His bright green gaze shone madly as he pointed and most likely commanded the crimson dragon upon Gar and the others.

Garfield pulled the triggers back and aimed at the dragon's thick neck. Soon, more gunshots echoed his own. The dragon swooped lower and lower, until its black belly nearly brushed the tops of the walls. Now Gar could hear the man's wicked cackles as the dragon came closer and closer.

The man on its back yelled something to it, and without hesitating, it obeyed. Its black clawed foot snatched Sarah from the ground and up into the air. Garth nearly dropped his guns as he tried to grab the dragon's retreating tail. Garth was easily knocked to the side, and he hit the wall, watching in horror as the dragon and its master flew around with Sarah in their grasp. He shook his head, shaking debris out of his long black hair, and started shooting at the beast again.

It's tail came down into the remains of the building, and Wally made a dash for it, as he was the fastest runner of them all. He grabbed the end of its tail and was hoisted about fifty feet in the air before he could steady himself. Gar was careful to watch out and not shoot Wally, as he ran across its tail and towards the man on its back. Wally came up behind him, and punched him in the side of the head. The man nearly fell from his dragon, but caught the edge of its wing and hoisted himself onto his dragon's back. He faced Wally, and advanced on him; his palm was upturned to the sky, as if something were going to fall from it and help him fight. Nothing did, although flames erupted in his palm. Gar watched in frigid horror as he lit Wally's arm on fire. The red-headed Protector quickly shook out the flames and pointed his gun at the man's chest. Gar continued to shoot at the dragon's open areas, careful not to shoot at Sarah or Wally.

"That doesn't look good," Richard yelled over the gunshots and the dragon's rumbling roars. He pointed to its clawed foot, and both the Protectors and Assigners stopped to look; its grip on Sarah was loosening.

Garth let out a strangled cry as the dragon's foot opened, sending Sarah plummeting to the road below.

"No!" Garth pushed Richard and Garfield out of the way as he bolted to the road. "No, Sarah!"

Tara bolted after him, even after Gar had called her back into the safety of the destroyed bunker. Suddenly, a large boulder was lifted into the air, and both Garth and Tara were gliding on top of it. They got underneath Sarah, and Garth caught her.

Garfield kept his hands on his pistols as he watched the three of them descend to the ground. "C'mon, c'mon," Gar muttered to himself, anticipating their arrival.

But it never came.

The dragon bellowed and fire shot from his mouth, lighting up the street.

Gar wanted to scream, wanted to run and help them. There was a possibility that the three of them were alive. A very small possibility, but a possibility all the same.

But only one figure ran into the destroyed bunker, and it wasn't Sarah's or Tara's. Garth appeared, a gold pendant around his neck and another one in his hand. Garfield stared wide eyed at his fellow Protector and nearly punched him in the face. Richard held him back, as did Bruce. Wally ran in a few moments later, bruised and scraped up, but fine otherwise and stared at everyone.

They all went outside to assess the damage. The dragon and the mysterious man were gone by now, and so were Sarah and Tara's bodies.

Garfield turned to Garth, his forest green gaze narrowed as he got up in his face. "How could you just let them fight that thing on their own?! You do know you're a Protector, right? Your job is to protect them, dude, how could you not help them!?"

Garth turned on Garfield, his face stained with tears. "They insisted that they handled that beast on their own! They wouldn't let me help them! What else could I do?" He tossed Tara's pendant at Gar. "She wanted you to have that."

Gar stared at the pendant and watched as Garth and everyone else retreated into the remains of the bunker. Not too long after, Roy, Jason, and Joseph returned. They didn't ask what happened, they just assumed that things went horribly wrong.

Garfield reluctantly slipped the pendant around his neck and made his way into the bunker. All the Protectors were gathered around the four Assigners. He joined them, and was just in time to hear Bruce say:

"Well boys, looks like its time to bring on the next batch of Guardians."


	2. I: Roy

**Chapter Word Count: 2,400+**

**A/N: I'm glad that some people like my story! :) Thanks for reviewing/favoriting/following. I appreciate it very much.  
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_**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans. I do, however, own my OCs Sylvia, Kali, and Crystal.**_

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"Alright boys, line up!"

Roy reluctantly got up from his place on the couch. Barry stood, tapping his foot, waiting for the rest of the Protectors to line up in front of him. Eventually, all seven of them were lined up in front of Wally's uncle, and Barry flashed them a quick smile before pacing back and forth.

"Now, I'm sure all of you are aware that today you are being assigned new Guardians," he paused to turn and pace back in Roy's direction. "I'm going to go over the rules and give you a few warnings, just to refresh the thoughts in those heads of yours."

The orange haired Protector rolled his eyes as Barry stopped, hands clasped behind his back. He surveyed the boys in front of him before speaking._ Just get on with the damn lecture, Barry_, Roy groaned inwardly.

"Rule number one," the blonde Assigner started. "Never leave your Guardian's side. You must always have your eye on them, because the minute you turn your back, they could...disappear."

Roy knew that that statement was directed towards him. They never found Jade, so they assumed that she was dead and in the clutches of Slade. They did, however, find her golden pendant, which Roy now wore around his neck. He hung his head so that he didn't have to meet Barry's burning stare.

The blonde Assigner continued to pace back and forth. "Rule number two, if there is any problem that you _or_ your Guardian can't handle, make sure you contact either one of the Assigners on your communicator," Barry unclipped the little yellow device from his belt to show everyone.

Roy was only half listening. _He_ knew all the rules; he didn't understand why the Assigners were wasting their time explaining them all over again. Instead of fully listening, Roy rocked back and forth on his feet.

"Rule number three," the words were muffled to Roy. "Make sure you are stocked up on gold or silver weapons and bullets. Those two metals are the only two metals that can kill the Creatures of Hell."

Jason elbowed Roy in the side, and the tall Protector almost fell over. "Dude, you may as well listen," Jason hissed to him. Roy rolled his eyes as Barry came his way again.

"This isn't so much a rule; it's more of a warning, fellas," Roy hated when adults called any guy "fellas". It was just annoying. Barry continued. "You might not want to get into any relationships with your Guardian, because it just makes it harder to let them go if they die." Roy caught Barry shooting Richard a look. Roy narrowed his eyes. _Leave the kid alone, Barry,_ Roy wanted to say, but he held his tongue.

Now Barry stood front and center, hands clasped behind his back. "Now, the moment of truth, gentleman. Your Guardians."

Barry stepped back, and suddenly, seven cloaked figures came out of the shadows; literally. Roy guessed one of the Guardians could manipulate shadows. Wally's uncle looked at the cloaked Guardian in front of Richard. "Kori Anders, Guardian of Light."

After Barry called out her name, Kori let her cloak fall to her feet. Roy would admit, she was definitely pretty; tan skin, emerald green eyes, cherry red hair. Her dress was white, and when it caught the light, it would sparkle gold. Roy's gaze traveled over to Richard and he had to choke down a laugh because his face was bright red.

Standing next to Rich was Garfield. Gar was fumbling with his glasses as Barry called the name and title of Gar's new Guardian. "Rachel Roth, Guardian of Magic."

Rachel only took down her hood. Her expression was bored, but her violet eyes sparked with some kind of emotion. Her black hair was longer in the front and shorter in the back. She had a few piercings in each ear, and black eyeliner stood out on her pale skin.

Next to be assigned his Guardian, was Joseph. Roy liked Joseph. He was a nice kid, and was very grateful that he had no intention of taking after his father. Barry called out the new Guardian's name. "Nikole Weathers, Guardian of Beauty."

Nikole was shorter than Rachel and Kori. After taking off her cloak, she gave Joseph a small smile. Freckles were splattered across her cheeks, and her shoulder length hair was dyed pink. She had very dark blue eyes. Her dress was shorter than Kori and Rachel's; it stopped right over her knees. The skirt was pleated and the whole dress faded from white to dark blue, the same blue as her eyes.

Wally was next. His uncle called out his Guardian's title. "Jennifer Hex, Guardian of Luck."

The black cloak fell from her shoulders and revealed her figure. She was as tall as Nikole, but Jennifer was wearing two inch heels. The hem of her dress was zig-zagged. The dress itself was purple and black striped. Jennifer had bleach blonde hair, but her tips faded into hot pink. Her eyes matched her hair tips, and her skin looked extremely pale next to all the bright colors.

Barry looked at the cloaked figure in front of Garth. "Crystal Stein, Guardian of the Seas."

Crystal tore off the cloak, as if she couldn't stand it. She was easily the tallest of the seven Guardians, with ocean blue eyes, waist length brown hair, and tan skin. The fabric of her dress seemed to move like ocean waves, shimmering both green and blue.

Next was Jason. Barry looked to the girl in front of him. "Kali Khager, Guardian of Darkness."

Kali's cloak wasn't even a cloak, Roy realized, as it melted away. Roy guessed that she was the one who could control shadows. Kali was only a few inches shorter than Crystal. Jet black curls with lavender streaks, extremely pale skin, and dark purple eyeliner emphasized her lavender eyes. Her dress seemed to move as well, with shades of gray and black, mimicking shadows.

Roy glanced at all the Guardians and then, he looked straight ahead at the figure in front of him. Barry heaved a small sigh and called out, "Last, but certainly not least, Sylvia Wright, Guardian of Feline Creatures."

The moment the cloak fell from her shoulders, and she revealed her face, Roy's heart stopped. Sure, all the other Guardians were pretty, but Sylvia...Sylvia was down right beautiful. No makeup accented her face; not like she needed it. Her eyes were sky blue, and her black hair fell to her waist. Her dress was white, dotted with black leopard spots. Roy looked Sylvia up and down a few times and stopped as he looked her in the eye. They held each others' gaze for a few heart-stopping moments, until she looked at the floor.

Roy hadn't noticed he was holding his breath. Exhaling, he tried to calm himself down. _Play it cool, Roy, play it cool,_ he told himself. The awestruck Protector turned his attention to Barry as he walked towards the newly assigned Guardians and their Protectors.

"Now that you have your Guardians, boys, you and your Guardian are to be assigned a Bunker of your own," Barry explained. He glanced in Richard and Kori's direction. "Richard, Kori, you two will be staying in Bunker One. Go to Bruce, he will give you directions." As soon as the pair made their way to Bruce, Barry looked to Gar and Rachel.

"You two will be staying at Bunker 3. Go to Oliver."

This cycle continued, the numbers not in order, until Barry looked at Roy and Sylvia. He fixed the both of them with a stare, and finally said, "You two will be staying at Bunker 2. If you travel southwest from here, you'll reach the forest. It'll be there."

Roy nodded and went over to the couch to retrieve his sheath of arrows and his bow. When he turned around, he came face to face with Sylvia. Roy nearly stumbled backwards in surprise, and he felt his face go hot. She was nearly four inches shorter than him, so she had to look up at him.

"What's your name?" Sylvia asked.

He couldn't stand it; how pretty and innocent she was. _Calm down, Roy,_ he scolded himself. His hand reached for the back of his neck as he responded. "Roy. Roy Harper."

Roy could've sworn she cracked the smallest smile possible. "Right, well, you know who I am. Let's go."

He obeyed and followed behind her, out into the open street. Roy gripped his bow tightly, just in case any Creatures of Hell decided to attack them. The two of them walked in silence, until Roy caught up to her. "So, you're the Guardian of Feline Creatures?"

Sylvia glanced at him out of the corner of her narrowed eye. "Yeah, why?"

Roy shrugged and looked forward. "Well, my last Guardian was also the Guardian of Feline Creatures."

"I've heard that there can be double Guardians," Sylvia said, her voice flat. And that ended his chance to strike up a conversation

The rubble of Jump City soon changed into undergrowth and trees. They continued to walk on in silence, until they reached a cabin. It wasn't what Roy was expecting, but hey, it provided shelter, so Roy was cool with it.

"I guess this is it," he heard Sylvia mumble.

The both of them stepped inside, and it wasn't bad; a couch stood off to the side and there was a table with two chairs in a small kitchen. To the right, there was another door. Sylvia opened it, and it was a bedroom. The only bedroom in the bunker.

Sylvia turned to look at Roy and he smirked. "Looks like I'll be sleeping with you."

"Oh _no_. You are _not,_ under any circumstances, sleeping with me," Sylvia folded her arms over her chest and Roy noted that her cheeks were turning pink.

Roy's smirk widened. "But I have to stay by your side twenty four seven, right?"

"You're sleeping on the couch," she deadpanned as she pointed to the couch against the wall.

Roy pouted. "Aw what? That's not fair."

"It's either the couch, or outside. You choose," Sylvia smirked back at him. Roy gave her a well deserved death glare; here he thought that she was an innocent, cute girl. Now he knew why Uncle Ollie had told him not to judge a book by its cover.

"Fine," he mumbled and propped his bow and sheath of arrows next to the couch. There was a small window in the front, and Roy turned his head to look outside; the sun was just sinking below the surface of the water. Roy hadn't realized how late it was.

Apparently, Sylvia had noticed that it was getting late too, and she glanced at Roy. "You should get your rest. You never know what's gonna happen tomorrow." And without another word, she closed the door behind her.

Roy kicked off his combat boots and laid back on the couch. He closed his eyes, but it only felt like a few moments had passed before he was awoken with a start. Glancing out the window, Roy guessed that it was nearly two in the morning. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and lightning flashed, but that's not what woke him up. A shriek had sounded from Sylvia's room. Without hesitating, Roy grabbed his bow and arrows and opened her door.

"You alright, Sylvia?" He asked as he glanced at her. Her sky blue eyes were glassy, and they reflected the lightning that suddenly flashed. Sylvia shook as thunder rolled, closer this time. Roy realized that she was afraid of thunderstorms.

He threw his bow and arrow on top of a chair and walked over to her bed, sitting down next to her.

"I-I'm fine, Roy," Sylvia stammered, but flinched as lightning flashed again. "Go away."

Obviously she was scared out of her mind. "Aw c'mon, Sylv, don't be so cold," Roy pouted as he moved closer to her, so that their shoulders were touching. The raven haired Guardian pulled her knees closer to her, and bowed her head.

"I s-said, go away!" She half-hissed, half-stuttered. But Roy didn't want to. He just wanted to make sure she was okay; that was part of his job.

"It's okay to be scared, Sylvia," Roy whispered to her as thunder clapped again. She shuddered and elbowed him in the ribs, but it didn't hurt him. Roy lifted her chin with his index finger and thumb, and looked her in the eyes. "It's okay," he repeated himself.

"I-I don't need you," Sylvia managed to choke out, after another round of thunder and lightning. Roy had guessed she had tried to sound threatening, but to him, she sounded like a cornered bully's victim, looking for a last resort.

Roy stood up and started to walk towards the door. "If you say you don't need me, maybe I should just leave you to fend for yourse-"

"_No_!" Sylvia nearly cried. "I-I mean, that would be abandoning your job, wouldn't it? You can't j-just leave me here."

Roy smirked. He turned around and faked a looked of doubt. "Well, _you_ said you didn't need me, so-"

"F-fine. I need you," Sylvia deadpanned. "Could you do me a favor, Roy?"

He smirked and bowed to her. "Your wish is my command, my Guardian."

Sylvia rolled her eyes and shuddered again. Her face started to turn pink; Roy could tell even in the dim light. "C-could you...could you stay in here? Just until I fall asleep?"

Roy shrugged and walked over to the chair that occupied his bow and arrow. He heaved an exaggerated sigh and plopped down in the chair. "I _guess_..."

Sylvia shot him a look that was hard to read; it was either an I-hate-you-but-thank-you kind of look, or a just-shut-the-hell-up kind of look. Roy was guessing that it was more than likely to be the second one. Sylvia laid back uneasily.

Eventually, her breathing slowed until she was asleep. It had taken her a good half an hour, because of all the thunder and lightning. Roy leaned back in his chair, too lazy to get up. Besides, it was comfortable. Putting his hands behind his head, he closed his eyes, and drifted into darkness.


	3. II: Jason

**Word Count: 2,300+**

**A/N: Hey guys! I know, I know, it's been a pretty long time since I've updated. I have a three day weekend this weekend, so I might be able to work on the next chapter! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! :)**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or any of its characters. However, I do own the plot, and my OCs Kali, Crystal_, _and Sylvia._**

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Jason stepped outside the half destroyed bunker, his newly assigned Guardian right behind him. Kali was her name. She seemed intimidating, as if she were a pack leader of some sort. Jason turned to look at her over his shoulder, taking a drag from his cigarette.

"Guardian of Darkness, are we?" he smirked at her. Kali dragged her lavender eyes over him. Her lips were a tight line, and she folded her arms over her chest. However, she retorted back.

"Why yes, I just happen to be the Guardian of Darkness," Kali walked at Jason's side now. Her lavender eyes darted to look at him from the corners of her eyes. "And what are you supposed to be? Nearly dead because of that crap you're breathing in?"

Jason scoffed and rolled his eyes as he took another drag from his cigarette, and purposely blew the smoke into her face. Kali spluttered and coughed, waving the smoke away from her face. "You're an ass, you know that?" Her tone was scathing.

Jason hummed in response. "I get that a lot." He chuckled as Kali shot him a death glare. She muttered something under her breath, as the two of them started to make their way to their own bunker. Bruce had told them that their bunker (Bunker 7) was all the way to the north of the nearly destroyed Bunker 8, where the Assigners lived. It would be one hell of a walk. Hopefully they didn't run into any Creatures of Hell on the way.

They turned down a deserted street, the wind blowing scattered debris everywhere. Jason's combat boots scuffed the asphalt as they made their way down the road. Kali was slowly looking around, as if she was trying to understand that an apocalypse was actually going on. Jason noticed that Kali was extremely pale; it looked as if she never went outside, or never went into the sun. Kali glanced over at him, and caught him looking at her.

"What are you looking at?" Kali scowled. Suddenly, she jerked herself around to face behind them. Jason stared at her, puzzled. _What's gotten into her? _Jason's brow furrowed. He took a few steps closers to his Guardian, but she held out her arm to prevent him from walking any further.

"What is it?" Jason asked, obviously confused. Kali shushed him, and he rolled his eyes. Jason couldn't hear or see anything out of the ordinary. But if something was bothering Kali, then what she was feeling must've been _something_.

The Guardian of Darkness pressed both her index and middle fingers to her temples, her eyes closed. Jason quirked his brow, and shook his head. "C'mon Kal, let's go find our bunk-"

"Jason, duck!" Kali shouted at him. The ignorant Protector didn't even have time to ask why, as something nailed him in the back of the head. Jason stumbled forward, nearly taking Kali down with him. He rubbed the back of his head as he stood upright and wildly glanced around. His green eyes darted around the deserted streets. Out of the corner of his eye, Jason caught a mass of flickering blackness. He turned to see what seemed to be a black-feathered hawk. A moment or so later, two more black-feathered hawks joined the first one's side. A black aura, like flickering black flames, were coming off of the creatures. Jason instinctively reached for his hand pistols at his waist.

"What are those things?" Jason asked, as he slowly raised his guns so as not to provoke the black hawks.

"Shadow Sprites," Kali hissed. Jason rested his index fingers on the triggers. Kali glanced over her shoulder at him, her black and lavender curls bouncing around her shoulders as she did so.

"Don't shoot them," the raven haired Guardian ordered him. Jason clenched his fingers around the handles of his pistols. "Now's not the time to be an animal rights activist, toots."

Kali shot him a scowl, but disregarded his retort. The hawks continued to stare the two teenagers down, as if deciding which one of them they should attack first. Kali glanced at Jason out of the corner of her eye. Jason thought she was silently saying "trust me, I know what to do." Jason nodded and slowly returned his pistols to the gun holsters at his hips.

The Guardian of Darkness turned to face the three Creature of Hell. She stretched her arms outwards, and this seemed to split the dark aura from the hawks. The birds were now brown with white specks, and they plummeted to the asphalt. All that was left in the air were three black auras, flickering in the steady summer air. Kali made a spherical motion with her hands, and shouted, "_Revertere in rengo tuo. Redite ad infernos_!"

A fissure cracked the black asphalt, and it opened to reveal fiery red and orange flames. The Shadow Sprites let out a high pitched shrieking noise as they were dragged towards the open fissure by some invisible force. Jason watched in astonishment as the three dark spirits disappeared in the blink of an eye. The fissure resealed itself, glowed white for a moment, and then disappeared altogether.

Suddenly, Kali fell to her knees. Without hesitating, Jason quickly made his way over to her to see if she was alright.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jason asked as he reached her. Kali rose to her feet slowly, but almost fell again. Jason caught her by the arm and he steadied her. Kali's lavender eyes flashed toward him with disdain. She tore her arm from his grip and took a few steps away from him to test her gait.

"I-I'm fine; that sapped my energy though," Kali stammered, her back facing her Protector. Jason chuckled at her and stood next to her. "What? You don't want me to carry you like a princess, toots?"

The Guardian of Darkness gritted her teeth. "_Don't_ call me that."

"Aw but I like it. It's got a nice ring to it," Jason smirked wickedly at her. His Guardian heaved a sigh and rolled her eyes, almost as if she gave up. She folded her arms across her chest and began to walk quickly towards the direction of their bunker. Jason followed her in hot pursuit, a smirk still plastered on his face.

They were both silent the rest of the way, because neither of them had anything to say. Every once in a while, the two of them stopped to check their position, and estimate how much longer it would take to get to the bunker.

The sky was now a dark, stormy gray, but Jason knew it wasn't going to rain. The sky always looked gray, not even if it was sunny behind the clouds.

The silence was too much to take. Kali had gone silent ever since he tried to help her up, which was about two hours ago. He tried to strike up a conversation.

"So, since we're going to be stuck with each other for a while, we may as well get to know each other better," Jason stole a glance at Kali. She turned her head to face him and she sighed. "I guess. But you go first."

"Someone's shy, huh?" Jason teased her, but all she did in response was sigh. Geez, she can't take a joke, he thought.

"Well, what can I say?" Jason half asked himself. A small smile tugged at the edges of Kali's lips as he said this. "I lost both my parents to the apocalypse, as most people have, and Bruce took both Richard and I in. I didn't like my last Guardian too much; she was naggy all the time. But I was extremely pissed when I found her dead. I don't even know what killed her; most likely a large Creature of Hell. I don't intend on letting that happen to you."

Kali look at him, biting her lower lip, as if she was holding back something she wanted to say. If she had wanted to say something, she didn't.

Jason didn't like that. She was hiding something. Now he knew that he had only just met her that day, but he was her Protector; it was his job to know everything about the Guardian he protected. But, since it was only day one, he didn't press on her.

"What about you, toots?" A slight smirk tugged a corner of his lips up.

She didn't retort. Instead, she gave him a look and began to tell him about herself. "Both of my parents were taken by Slade as well. I had been living on my own for a while, and that's when Bruce found me." She paused for a moment, and looked straight ahead. "I believe that would be our bunker."

Jason turned his head to see where she was pointing. All he saw was the jagged edges of a rugged looking grey cliff face. He turned to Kali with doubt. "Uh, are you sure about that?"

"I'm pretty sure," Kali nodded in the direction of a sheer part of the cliff face. Something was engraved into the side of the rock. "Don't you see the word over there? _Septem_. It means 'seven' in Latin. Did the Assigners teach _any_ of you Protectors any Latin?"

Jason contemplated this for a moment. There was a few times he cut the lessons back at Bunker 8 when the apocalypse had first started. Some of the guys spoke Latin, because one, it was like a secret code that none of the Servants of Hell knew, and two, it was easy to learn. But Jason didn't remember going to any Latin lessons. He must've skipped those.

"Uh...I didn't learn any," The black haired Protector admitted.

Kali sighed, as if she was expecting that to be his answer. She started to walk towards the cliff. "We better start climbing, before it gets too dark."

Without arguing with her, Jason followed. They stood in front of the sheer drop off for a few minutes, trying to figure out the best way to scale the wall. After what seemed like an eternity, they managed to find cracks and tiny parts of rock that jutted out from the cliff. These would serve as footholds and handholds.

Jason gestured to the rock. "Ladies first." Kali didn't argue. Probably because she was still tired from fighting the Creatures of Hell, and from the long walk.

Kali glanced over her shoulder as soon as she was up the wall a foot or so. "Don't you dare look up my dress, or so help me, you will sleep at the bottom of this cliff." Jason didn't retort, because he too was tired.

As soon as she reached a level waking surface, Jason started to climb. Of course Bruce have Jason and his Guardian the (most likely) only bunker they had to climb to. The muscles in his arms screamed with the effort to hoist himself up the rocky cliff face. Miraculously, Jason managed to reach the level of the cliff that Kali stood on. Her back was to him, so he stood next to her to see what she was looking at.

In front of them was a steel bolted door. On it, read the words, "_Testudine Munitum Septum_". Man, Jason really wished he had gone to those Latin lessons.

"It reads 'Bunker Seven'," it was like Kali read his mind.

Jason furrowed his brow. "How are we supposed to get in?"

"Leave that to me," a small smirk pulled at the corners of her lips. The raven haired Guardian places her right hand over the inscription on the door. Suddenly, the words went obsidian black, and they blurred and moved until there was a black handprint that surrounded the are where Kali's hand was placed. She moved her hand straight down and muttered, "_Aperi_", and he heard a distinct click. The door swung open toward the inside, and the two black haired teenagers walked in.

It looked comfier than Jason imagined it to be; a few gasoline lanterns hung from the ceilings, since there was barely any source of electricity anywhere. Various rugs were scattered across the floor. There was a couch to their right, and on their left were three other steel doors. Kali walked over to the door in the middle, and it opened automatically. Maybe it had a motion sensor.

His Guardian peered inside, and looked back at Jason. "This room's a bedroom." She turned to the one at the far right, and looked inside. Her voice was muffled by the walls as she gave intel. "This one's a bedroom, too. But this one has weapons on the walls." Kali backed out of the room and looked at her Protector. "I'm guessing this one's yours."

"Sweet, I get all the toys," Jason smirked as he walked over to the door. Jason hasn't realized how tired he was until he saw the very comfortable looking bed in his bedroom. He looked up at Kali; her lavender eyes were dull, and he could tell that she was exhausted from the walk and the fight.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" Jason's suggested. It looked like she was on the verge of passing out.

Stifling a yawn, Kali nodded, and walked into her room. The door closed behind her.

Jason walked into his own room, and kicked off his combat boots. Different guns and swords lined the walls.

_There'll be time to look at them tomorrow_, Jason hoped inwardly. _Right now, I need sleep, pronto._

The Protector peeled off his leather jacket and tossed it over his pair of boots. Jason sat down on the bed and as soon as he laid back, he was out cold.


End file.
